LightCon 2022 opens with keynotes from market-leading companies

Hanover. Airbus, Bosch, IBM, VW and Affan Innovative Structures - the premiere of LightCon kicks off with keynotes from five market-leading companies. On June 1 and 2, the new congress trade show all about hybrid and sustainable lightweight solutions will offer a top-class conference program. The motto is "Lightweight Design on the Path to Circular Economy" and focuses on the global challenges of resource efficiency and climate protection for a sustainable circular economy and the reduction of CO2 emissions. The conference language is English.

Airbus and Bosch are already represented in the opening program of LightCon on June 1: For Isabell Gradert, Head of Central Research and Technology and General Manager for Materials Technology at Airbus, materials and structures make an important contribution to high-performance and competitive products - across all industries: "Materials will play a key role for the next generation of aviation in terms of lightweight construction and sustainability."

The title of the subsequent keynote address by Lisa Reehten, Executive Vice President of Bosch Climate Solutions, is "Green is not an option." According to Reehten, lightweight construction technology is used in various sectors, both in the automotive industry and in traditional industry. It is precisely this cross-cutting function that is important for sustainably influencing industries and supply chains, he said. "The lightweight construction sector has the opportunity to accelerate the transformation of industry," Reehten emphasizes.

In the afternoon, Oliver Gahr, Sustainability Leader AI Applications IBM EMEA, will talk about how sustainability and digitalization are shaping the value chain of the future. "Sustainability goals and digital transformation are closely linked," says Gahr. In his presentation, Gahr will illustrate this link and highlight the opportunities it presents.

A highlight of the program on the second day of the congress on Thursday, June 2, will be the keynote address in the opening panel by Dr. Oliver Schauerte, Head of Materials and Vehicle Projects at Volkswagen. According to Schauerte, lightweight construction is also of considerable importance for e-vehicles - not only for reducing energy consumption, but also in terms of crash loads, tire and brake wear, driving dynamics and permissible gross weight. "Today and in the future, lightweight construction also results from the further and new development of functional materials, as in the case of increasing the efficiency of the electrified powertrain or increasing battery capacities," says Schauerte.

A spectacular example of lightweight construction is the futuristic Museum of the Future in Dubai. Affan Innovative Structures, a company based there, provided the design for the composite panels as well as fabrication and installation support. The company's CEO Dr. Amer Affan will speak at LightCon about sustainability in construction and introduce the new trend of volumetric modular construction. Here, modules are manufactured like cars in a factory environment and assembled "quickly" at the construction site. A soft wood sheathed with fibers is particularly well suited as a material for such lightweight and easily transportable modules.

About LightCon

LightCon is an annual international congress trade show that presents lightweight construction solutions for a wide range of user industries across materials and technologies. The inaugural event will be held on 1 and 2 June 2022 as an independent event parallel to HANNOVER MESSE in Hall 19. In the exhibition area, lightweight construction suppliers will showcase solutions from the entire value chain. The LightCon conference is themed "Lightweight Design on the Path to Circular Economy" and focuses on the global challenges of resource efficiency, sustainability and climate protection, and the reduction of CO2 emissions. The patron of this year's event is Dr. Robert Habeck, Germany's Minister of Economics and Climate Change. The founding partner of LightCon is the lightweight construction network Composites United.

Visit www.lightcon.info/en for more information.